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Meet the Atlas Staff
Meet the atlas staff through the following short videos:
Birding Stories
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July 2010 - Atlassing Tod Mountain The snow lingered into late summer
on the Coast Mountains this year so we decided to get some last-of-the-season
birding in the mountains near Kamloops. As it turned out, my brother is a ski
guide at Sun Peaks Resort and he had arranged for a visit via their chairlift
into the alpine on Tod Mountain. We set off on a hot summer day stopping first
to see a party of 25 or 26 (the mosquitoes interrupted my count) White Pelicans
feeding along the shore of Kamloops Lake. This square has been birded often so I
didn't expect to find too much new. A Red-necked Grebe feeding young was the
only addition although we enjoyed seeing Lazuli Bunting, Eastern and Western
Kingbirds, Chukars with young and a band of bighorn sheep.
By mid-morning, we had reached Sun Peaks and were riding the chair up the
mountain. We had come prepared for a lot of bugs but a steady breeze kept them
at bay. The chair ended about three-quarters of the way to the top from where we
would hike along well marked trails. The meadows were spectacular. I expected
the lush growth to be crawling with birds but the slopes were largely devoid of
avian life. A merlin zipped past, a few Mountain Chickadees called from deep in
a clump of trees, and a few juncos flitted here and there. The alpine is a
feature of British Columbia and a habitat where we need more information on its
birds. Although few birds were seen on our visit, there might be more earlier in
the year. The accessibility of Tod Mountain from Sun Peaks Resort is an
opportunity to visit the alpine often. It might also be a good place to look for
migrating raptors. I extend our thanks to Sun Peaks Resort for providing a pass
on their chair and to my brother for making the arrangements.
Rob Butler.
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July 2010 - Marbled Murrelets at Last For several years now, I have known about
the Marbled Murrelets that nest high on the San Juan Ridge above Jordan River. I
know they come in from the ocean with food for their chicks in the evening
without making a sound. Then, just at dawn, they gather together and chatter
away just before heading back to the ocean over 30 km away. So we have been
trying to find a spot to hear them by camping high in the hills at about 1000
meters. Each trip adds substantially to the patina of our exclusive 'brushed
alder' paint finish on our trusty Jeep. Last Saturday July 10 was our 4th
attempt over 3 years to hear this phenomena and we finally did it. I set the
alarm for 4:45 am and got up in anticipation. My husband Dave stayed cozy in the
tent away from the swarms of bugs and we both heard them clearly chattering from
around 5:15 am for about half an hour on and off, just as the sun was climbing
over a nearby peak. So I think I can safely add an AE next to Marbled Murrelets
in 10DU17 at last! I didn't actually see them yet but my friends have heard them
now for several years running. My next attempt will be to actually see them. I
will have to find a better camp spot. The Kludahk Outdoor Club is working on
getting the BC Hydro’s Fish and Wildlife ‘Bridge Coastal Restoration Program’ to
do some research on them. We hope this research will assist us to get protection
for the old-growth trees where they nest.
It was a pleasant evening with Sooty Grouse hooting, Common Nighthawks
calling and finally Barred Owls calling as we dined on gourmet hot dogs and
marshmallows in the middle of nowhere. Dave can't complain that he doesn't get
to go out for his birthday. Missing from the evening were Northern Pygmy Owls
which are usually around. They are probably learning to be quiet due to the
recent influx of Barred Owls.
Agnes Lynn - Victoria, BC
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March 2010 - Eagle Eviction?
In early March, while eagles are starting to breeding and tend to their nests
and eggs in the southern BC, Chilco Choate was puzzled by some eagle behaviour
(or lack thereof) at Gaspard Lake, near Riske Creek. Across the lake from his
home there is a Bald Eagle nest that has been active for over 30 years. There is
still a pair of "baldies" that are often perched on the nesting tree or along
the lake under the nest tree, so they seem to be planning to use it again this
year. But, for the past 4 days a pair of Common Ravens have been carrying sticks
into the nest and the eagles are not challenging them. It will be interesting to
see how this situation turns out over the breeding season.
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December 2009 - Birding the Stikine The Stikine wetlands, near the
American border about 150km south-west of Telegraph Creek is a place where few
are lucky to go bird watching. This is just a bunch of fledgling Tree Swallows
found there, but... much more. This was in an elevated swamp created by a maze
of interconnected beaver dams. I used a skiff with an outboard jet to get up the
creek to the area and from there I paddled a canoe from dam to dam and portaged
up the steps into the marsh. This was midsummer, no wind, thick bugs. As I was
slowly paddling and drifting along a winding deep channel, bordered by sedges,
dead trees, alder and willow I rounded a bend and found myself in the midst of a
gyre of swallows. They were passing me at canoe gunnel level inches away and
below me, coming from behind, or straight on, arching overhead, turning and
diving, doing everything a swallow can do but with an intense purpose because
every available perch in the core was occupied by crowds of hungry fledglings.
The mosquitoes were annihilated. I saw more than one unwary moth die quickly.
Unlike the merlins that snatch dragonflies in their talons, these swallows had
to hit the dragonflies three or four times before being able cripple them and
send them spinning down to be snatched before crashing into the grass. The
aerobatics must have been partly a show for the new generation and the adults
did stall turns and pure loops and hovers. I saw an adult fold a wing and let
the lift from the other wing roll it over into a dive in the opposite direction.
They fed the fledglings by hovering like hummingbirds and passing insects while
they hovered, and they were feeding the fledglings mid air. Bill Sampson -
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Floatplane Atlassing in northwestern BC July 2-10, 2009 When Laird and
I were offered the opportunity to fly into northwestern British Columbia to
atlas, we jumped at the chance. We would meet the pilot on July 2, and fly back
out July 10 or 11 (depending on weather). Cold Fish Lake was our first target
area. Denetiah Lake would be next.
We brought along another 15 or so atlas square maps for a third
lake in case we had time to survey another square. We met Jim Munn, who now
lives in Summerland but knows the northwest, at Fraser Lake. Jim has a Cessna
180 on floats.
From Fraser Lake, we flew into Cold Fish Lake Camp in Spatzizi
Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park. This park was established, largely through
the efforts of guide-outfitter Tommy Walker, in 1975 for its “true wilderness
atmosphere, outstanding scenery and varied terrain.” Amenties at the camp
include six small sleeping cabins, a cookhouse, and outhouses. A number of horse
and walking trails branch out from the camp. Some lead to the alpine, one
follows Cold Fish Lake and one leads to a couple of smaller lakes to the north
of the camp. The alpine areas were continuous rolling ridges with fantastic
viewscapes. The sub-alpine on both sides of the valley consisted of far-reaching
wet meadows of bog birch and willow bushes.
One day, on a point count, we had a young grizzly bear supervising
us from 80 metres away. Later that day, while watching some Horned Larks and
Semi-palmated Plovers, a caribou walked up to within 20 metres of us.
After five days of conducting 40 point counts and walking 81 km, we
deemed the two targeted squares completed. We documented 33 and 59 species
respectively of birds for the two squares. Two singing Smith’s Longspurs were
the highlight. The weather was also a highlight: no rain!
Denetiah Lake is about 130 km northeast of Cold Fish Lake and
15 km west of the Rocky Mountain Trench. It, also, is in a park: Denetiah
Provincial Park. There is a public use cabin on this remote wilderness lake, but
we slept in our tents and cooked over a fire. The mosquitoes, black flies and
noseeums were much easier to manage in a small tent.
We were able to atlas along the lake using a rough horse trail even
though parts of it were under water. The alpine was accessed by climbing a steep
ridge behind the cabin. Once in the scrubby treed sub-alpine, we climbed some
more to get above treeline, then climbed some more. We found rubber boots are
excellent for rock climbing! The impressive viewscapes were hazy with smoke from
a wildfire to the north. On the way up we saw three Stone Sheep on a far ridge.
We completed one atlas square here, conducting 21 point
counts, and walking 24 km for 37 species of birds. The highlight was a pair of
White-tailed Ptarmigan, a species that eluded us at Cold Fish Lake. We had
scattered rain showers here.
Thank you for the opportunity to get into BC’s remote
wilderness!
Sandra Kinsey and Laird Law Prince George, BC |
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4 August 2009 Atlassing “With a Little Help from My Friends” or, the
Owl and the Hummingbird
I’m certain that Lennon and McCartney didn’t have atlassing in mind when they
penned the song With a Little Help from My Friends, but the premise of the song
still resonates. We’re all engaged in a fantastic cooperative effort with our
first BC Atlas. Whether we’re contributing a few sightings, or working our way
through square after square and point count after point count, we are all
friends in this marathon undertaking. We couldn’t do it at all without a little
help from our friends. Take my “home” square for example. Birding friends have
confirmed more birds breeding than I have, and have contributed intrigue,
excitement and connections. On May 16th this year, Colin McKenzie, one of
10EV05’s stalwarts, was walking the forested trails of Deer Lake Park in
Burnaby, when an unexpected avian “friend” gave him a useful pointer in a good
direction. “I walked right past the tree at first without noticing anything,”
reported Colin, “but I was turned around by a female Rufous Hummingbird that was
vigorously scolding the trunk of a large red alder. Odd behaviour! I turned
around and walked back to get a different angle on the tree, and discovered the
source of her agitation. A large cavity on the side of the tree had an adult
Barred Owl stuffed into it, somewhat awkwardly it seemed.” Colin sent me a
couple of pictures of the owl-filled cavity, which I forwarded to Dick Cannings,
asking if he thought it might be a nest, or a roost. He suggested either was
possible and that we try to find out, so Colin and I returned to the tree, this
time with a ladder in hand to look in. We didn’t need it. Two yet-to-fledge
Barred Owls were visible to us from the side of the trail, peering out from the
opening of the cavity. The adults were nowhere in sight, and only later did I
spot them –close by and keeping lookout on the young. And the final friend who
contributed to this story was Tom Middleton – whose great photograph of the two
owlets you see above.
George Clulow, Regional Coordinator, Greater Vancouver – Region 15
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16 June 2009 - Atlassing the Bute
Bute Inlet cuts 66 kilometers into the Coast Mountains on the BC South Coast.
The inlet is rimmed with towering snow capped and glacial mountains. The Orford
River entering along its southern shore has the highest density of grizzlies on
the coast in late summer.
Not much was known about the avifauna of the inlet and it was a
gaping hole in Region 21. A generous grant from Mountain Equipment Coop to atlas
partner the Pacific WildLife Foundation, allowed Regional Coordinator Art
Martell, Atlas Coordinator Rob Butler and birder Gerry McKeating to spend a week
point counting up the inlet in early June.
Bute Inlet has a long history of use. The inlet is the traditional
territory of the Homalko First Nations who kindly allowed access to their
Reserve on the Orford River. They have a hatchery on the river that supplies
coho and chum to the river. Bears are drawn to the river to catch fish in late
summer. Salmon rivers are known to have an abundance of bird species so the
access to the Orford was important to us. Vic and James from the Homalko served
as hosts pointing us in the right direction and accompanying us on an early
morning point count session. The inlet was also a proposed wagon road route from
the coast to the gold fields in the mid 1800s. Large areas of forest has been
cut and replanted in the past few decades. The logging roads were our only
access to the high country in most places. There are plans in review for
independent power production on several rivers in Bute Inlet.
Our approach was to target squares near the entrance, midway and
head of the inlet to examine how the avifauna changed as we moved inland. Our
journey was by sailboat on the 43 foot Ark Angel from Departure Bay Charters. We
travelled by inflatable boat and kayak to get to shore. The rest was done on
foot either along logging roads or bushwhacking up trails. Rod MacVicar and Bev
Ford skippered the boat and kept the operation running smoothly. Photographer
Tom Middleton and Mike McKinlay documented the trip using photos and video for
future public presentations.
We all came away with vivid images of the immense beauty of the
Bute, particularly in the estuary at the head of the inlet. There we drifted
down the Homathko River in the evening light below towering mountains set
against a blue sky across which coursed Vaux and Black Swifts. The forest rang
out with Swainson’s Thrush song and several Ruby-crowned Kinglets twittered in
the conifers. We did not expect Ruby-crowns at sea level. American Redstarts
were a treat in the forest and to our utter surprise, a flock of White Pelicans
winged down the inlet in the evening.
Bears are attracted to rich valley bottoms to find food which the
birds also find attractive. Point counting in bear country provides a special
challenge. Art, Gerry and I are former Canadian Wildlife Service biologists with
years of wilderness experience with bears and although we encountered black
bears on a few occasions, none were threatening. In contrast, the dry rocky
shores near the entrance of the inlet were forested with Douglas-fir, arbutus
and manzanitta where few birds were present.
Our final stop was on Mitlenatch Island in northern Strait of
Georgia. The island is a BC Park and a major seabird nesting habitat on the
South Coast. We found several thousands gulls busy with nests. Pelagic and
Double-crested Cormorants were making the best of a bad time with 8 Bald Eagles
that regularly flushed them form nests. A family of Ravens was a likely
beneficiary of this disturbance. Guillemots and oystercatchers were noted and we
heard a Willow Flycatcher in the scrub pines in the meadow.
There will be more on this story in the coming weeks.
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14 May 2009 Early Atlassing in Squamish and Pemberton
We are lucky on the coast that we can find more breeding behaviour weeks
before our favourite place on the other side of the Coastal Mountains. On 18 &
19th of April, Christopher Di Corrado emerged from a too long winter hibernation
in the Atlas office and met up with groups of atlassers in Squamish and
Pemberton. Guiding the day were regional coordinators Marcia Danielson
(Squamish-Whistler) and Heather Baines (Pemberton). We were in the grace of Top-Atlassers
with 100+ logged hours, Chris Dale and Heather Baines (who is still recovering
from a broken pelvis but came out on crutches!) While it was early in the
season, were were still able to find many species in suitable habitat exhibiting
breeding evidence, including nesting Bald Eagle, Canada Goose, Red-winged
Blackbird, Black-capped Chickadee. We saw pairs of Mallard, Wood Duck, and
Hooded Mergansers in wetlands and displaying hummingbirds and flickers.
Townsend's Warblers were already singing from high conifers, Savannah Sparrows
singing in grasslands, Sooty Grouse boomed from the mountain sides, woodpeckers
were calling and tapping, and towhees were "meowing" in the brush. Even a Belted
Kingfisher was investigating a burrow on a bank beside a wetland - I'd give that
a "V" code, for visiting a probable nest site. I waited from a distance to see
if it would go in, but it just chattered and flew around back and forth.
Suspicious - I think it was on to me! We had to be careful not to record
migrants. Skeins of White-fronted geese few along Pemberton meadows, American
Pipits visited the fields, and Greater Yellowlegs lagged along the river. Thanks
to all the atlassers and RCs that came out to visit and have put so much hard
work into the area. If you are planning to visit the area, give Marcia and
Heather a call, because they still have many places where you could help!
-Christopher Di Corrado |
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24 October 2008 The Black-backed Woodpecker was a life bird for us – we
were really pleased to see them, and it was wonderful to be able to watch them
for a while. We’d been looking for a BBWO for a long time, and guessed this
would be good habitat. The nest is near the edge of a burned over area as
predicted, and the chick was squawking continuously, which is what alerted us.
We camped for a few days in mid-July at Moberly Lake Provincial Park, and spent
some time birding in the area. We explored an old logging road NE of Cameron
Lake, and were fortunate enough to find this woodpecker family. We watched for
quite a while as both adults carried food to the nest and fed the chick.
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11-13 July 2008 Atlassing Mt. Assiniboine “Matterhorn of
the Rockies,” is indeed an apt description for Mt. Assiniboine. But there is
much more here than simply a majestic mountain. It is the core of a justly famed
alpine region, with many other inspiring peaks, multi-hued mountain lakes, sub
alpine forests, and rolling uplands dotted with expansive alpine meadows. A
picture-perfect setting! No wonder the region has attracted mountain lovers for
generations and led to establishment of a provincial park and Mt. Assiniboine
Lodge. We went there for all these reasons and to participate in the BC Breeding
Bird Atlas Program. We spent over 24 hours afoot over three days censusing the
various habitats and tallied 29 species of birds. Modest you say? We'll agree,
but we documented the breeding status of a good selection of the expected alpine
and subalpine bird species.
The area is reached by a 28-kilometre long trail. Most lodge
visitors helicopter in, as we did, while hut visitors generally hike, though
some we met, elect to fly out. Our flight at midday on the 11th was spectacular;
the pilot whizzed us by sheer limestone faces and Mountain Goats seemingly only
an arm's length away from the blades. This adventure was all-too-short; in five
or six minutes we put down on a small pad among dwarf firs and shrubby willows a
few minutes walk from either the lodge or the cabins. We stayed in the Naiset
Huts, managed by the lodge ($20/night per person), and made much more pleasant
(and sociable) by a central cooking and dining lodge complete with stoves,
lighting, and running water.
An unusual summer storm the night before had deposited 15 cm of
snow. Fortunately, most of this had melted off by the time we arrived but the
higher peaks were still almost winter white.
We soon set off towards the lodge and took a trail heading off
towards Lake Magog, a big lake with no visible outlet and appearing drawn down
as if a reservoir. The limestone in the area apparently allows much subterranean
drainage. Along the way, we examined the expansive shrubby willow thickets,
giving the basin a “feel” of countless valleys far to the north in sub arctic
Canada and Alaska.
Bird wise, the first thing we noticed was a chorus from many
sparrows from White-crowned (abundant), Fox (fairly common), and a few
Savannahs. Most exciting were Brewer's “Timberline” Sparrows, a subspecies
considered by some as a distinct species. Other birds included a couple Bald
Eagles soaring over the lake and squawking Common Ravens and Clark's
Nutcrackers. We made our way to Sunburst Lake and well-named Cerulean Lake to
Elizabeth Lake. From there we climbed up a steeper track through open sub alpine
forest with Boreal Chickadees, including downy young, then past several large
piles of bear scat, to the shoulder of The Nublet, just into the treeless
alpine. Along the way we encountered an excited Japanese visitor, blaring his
“bear “ whistle, which Ellen thought was a bicycle horn. Wow, was it loud,
totally disrupting the serene atmosphere wilderness visitors most appreciate.
But, Grizzly Bears were around; we were among the only cabin visitors to miss
the “non-aggressive” young male bear hanging around the cabins. We all took
precautions such as noise making and had no problems. From the shoulder of The
Nublet we admired the sensational views and made plans for the morrow.
For the 12th, we chose to climb to the top of The Nublet, well into
the alpine, taking a graded trail up through dense sub alpine forest finding
Gray Jay and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and numerous Pine Siskins, but, despite
searching, no Red-breasted Nuthatch, Townsend's Warbler, or Dark-eyed Junco,
species I expected in this forest type. We did hear an American Three-toed
Woodpecker drum. We veered off the main trail not far below tree line and in no
time we were into the timberline scrub (krumholz) where we tried to find,
unsuccessfully, Golden-crowned Sparrow, most of which nest from Jasper National
Park north. We did find American Pipit and Horned Lark (including a nest with
four eggs).
Near the top of the Nublet, we chatted with a group led by lodge
guides and asked the whereabouts of ptarmigan. “Well, usually on the bump a
little below or at the very top,” as he gestured to the slope 100 metres below
and then to the summit of the Nublet 100 metres above. At the top of the Nublet,
we didn't see any ptarmigan so I tried playing my iPod. Seconds later a male
ptarmigan cackled from a boulder field below and then rocketed to our feet and
spent the next 10 minutes circling us only a metre away! I've tried this many
times before without success, so am wondering if my previous attempts have been
too late in the season.
From the Nublet we made our way down to timberline then headed into
the cirque to the north, hoping for Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. In this snowy basin
we found several singing American Pipits. Slogging up to the col east of Nub
Peak (keeping the Niblets, Nublets, and Nubs clear in our minds was a chore!) we
had brief views of rosy finches and an ever-so brief view of a large falcon
dashing away and around a shoulder of a nearby mountain. On the descent we
lingered about a ridgeline with krumholz spruce noting at least three singing
Brewer's “Timberline” Sparrows, in a very different habitat from the birds
around willow-lined Lake Magog.
We arrived back at the cabins at about 7 pm, after a full and
rewarding day. At the cook cabin there were lots more folks than the day before.
We had a great time hearing tales of the rigors faced by a group of teenage
girls who had evidently not been advised of the real extent of the trek into Mt.
Assiniboine. Another group said they had also hiked in but were going to fly
out. The teenage girls mentioned this was a great idea. Dad said “end of
discussion.”
Lake Magog 13th. We made a final walk around the south and east
side of Lake Magog on the morning of the 13th, enjoying a cloudless view of Mt.
Assiniboine and its marvelous setting. Leaving the Naiset Huts we stopped to
study a just fledged Pine Grosbeak. In the willows by the lake, we had a chance
to seek out and study White-crowned Sparrows, a few of which sang a quite
different tune from the others. To my ear, these sounded like Gambel's. Could
the other birds be oriantha, the more southern race? Or intergrades? This
question deserves further study. We undertook a census of Brewer's “Timberline
Sparrows and counted nine singing males in the willow thickets. We clearly noted
the song is, as some say, “like a Brewer's on helium,” the buzzy notes with a
musical ting, not unlike that of Baird's Sparrow to my ear. A lone Common Loon
yodeled its lovely wail from out in the middle of the lake while Spotted
Sandpipers piped their loud calls from the shore.
We headed back to our cabin to pack and head off to the Heli-pad
for our noonish flight out. Waiting for the chopper, the only White-winged
Crossbill of the trip called overhead. Once again we had a thrilling flight,
this time the chopper blades seemed even closer to the cliffs! – Andy
Stepniewski |
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21 July 2008 A Point Count Saga in Burnaby It's amazing where a little
atlassing can lead! On June 21st, Colin McKenzie and I were up and out early
doing point counts in Burnaby, New Westminster – atlas square 10EV05. One of the
randomly assigned point counts took us to a heavily industrialized area, almost
under the Sky Train right-of-way, at the mouth of the Brunette River. Other than
an extremely narrow strip of riparian vegetation along the “river”, which at
this point looks more like an unsavory ditch mirroring its dirty industrial
surroundings, it seemed an unlikely location for little more than Rock Pigeons,
House Sparrows, and European Starlings.
A couple of minutes into the 5 minute count, an adult Green Heron
popped out from the scrubby streamside vegetation and flew downstream directly
at me, pulled a mid-flight U-turn, then perched on a grubby log embedded in the
shallow water. Now, to get a Green Heron at all on a point count is one thing,
but to find one in such an unlikely location had us grinning and shaking our
heads at the improbability of it all. And this was just the start of the story
about to unfold.
I posted a report of the sighting to our local bird chat
group BCVanBirds, which prompted a reply from Todd Davis who reported seeing
Green Herons, possibly with young, in another industrial area further east in
square 10EV15. Keen to obtain confirmed breeding for an uncommon species,
particularly when it was in Rob Butler's square, I headed down there late Canada
Day morning. This area too is quite heavily industrialized, and not the birdiest
of locations. However, there is definitely some good habitat along Como Creek,
and my creek-side walk was rewarded with singing Willow Flycatchers, a Spotted
Sandpiper calling loudly, and a mix of other species including Cedar Waxwings -
but no herons. At the end of the trail I arrived at the postage-stamp-sized Don
Roberts Park. As I looked down at the creek mouth, an adult Green Heron flushed
from the water's edge. Success – a “Possible H”! But could I find young to
confirm breeding? Carefully checking the dense vegetation across the creek
hoping to find a young bird waiting for its parent to return, something white
caught my eye. I swung my bins on to a heron all right, but a totally unexpected
adult Black-crowned Night-Heron, in full view, giving me the (red) eye from an
alder across the creek. Flabbergasted didn't quite capture my feeling, but I let
out a gasping "would you believe it?" to no-one in particular, and proceeded to
watch the bird for the next 40 minutes before it took off into deep cover
upstream, where I lost sight of it.
A Black-crowned Night-Heron, “Possible H”, now things were getting
really interesting! Could we confirm breeding? Could we confirm breeding at this
unlikely location? Wayne Campbell and others in Birds of BC mention only 2
confirmed breeding records for the Province, both from Reifel Island in the
1970's. Vancouver birders see Night-Herons from late summer through spring
almost exclusively at the George C Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, but they
have puzzled for years about where they may breed.
I knew Randy Findlay lived nearby, and asked him if he would head
down there to perhaps get some photographs. Well, you can see the outcome of
Randy's efforts in the accompanying great photos. Not only did he capture the
brilliant picture of the adult Green Heron, but also the nest of 5 young,
“Confirmed “NY”, that I'd missed on my first visit. However, Randy could not
find the Night-Heron, and I too was unable to relocate the bird on a subsequent
visit.
Since then, I've also received reliable reports of July sightings
of Green Herons from nearby Sapperton Landing Park. So, we seem to have found an
unexpected, at least for me, concentration of breeding Green Herons in pretty
skimpy habitat, along ditches, creeks and “rivers” emptying into the Fraser
River in heavily industrialized settings in the New Westminster area. Who would
have imagined?
And, the saga continues… Al Russell, another Vancouver birder, used
to play along the lower Brunette as a kid, and was intrigued by the reports of
Green Herons and Night-Heron I had posted to VanBirds. On July 12 &13 Al checked
out the area, found young and adult Green Herons near the nest on Como Creek,
and also checked out the Brunette River a little upstream of the original
sighting of Green Heron that started this story. In the fading light on Saturday
evening, standing on a bridge near the Canfor property looking upstream, Al saw,
and got a poor photograph of an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron standing on the
bank of the river – the first Vancouver area Night-Heron Al had ever seen
outside Reifel. Was this the same bird that I saw almost two weeks earlier,
approx 2kms away? Is this evidence of possible breeding at two locations? Are
Night-Herons breeding in the area and foraging widely? We don't know yet, but
stay tuned. We're out there looking.
George Clulow, Regional Coordinator
Region 15 – Greater Vancouver
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16 July 2008
Atlaser-in-Training Owen Harshaw (age 5) surveys the Fraser canyon from
square 10EB58 in the Cariboo region. Although he's still working out how to
focus his binoculars, his best sightings on his first Atlas trip were a
beautiful male Western Tanager, a Mountain Bluebird nest with eggs and a
Chipping Sparrow collecting nesting material. Owen was visiting the OK Ranch
with his parents, Nancy Mahony and Howie Harshaw to do some atlasing and
visiting Nancy's field research project on Vesper Sparrows and Western
Meadowlarks. Owen was also enthralled with a pair of Common Loons and their two
chicks which swam right by the campsite, calling at nearby Big Bar Lake
Provincial Park, where the mosquitoes were bad but the weather was great.
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12 July 2008
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch on Mount Arrowsmith, Vancouver Island
While carrying out breeding evidence surveys for the British Columbia
Breeding Bird Atlas on Vancouver Island Justin Lynch and I discovered a family
group of Gray-crowned Rosy Finches. We had ascended Mount Arrowsmith, starting
from the trail located on the main Cameron logging road at 07:00 am. After
reaching the saddle, we descended to a lake, which was still frozen and then
climbed up the north side. We followed a route around the bowl, which surrounded
the lake to a snow bridge, and then back to the saddle. It took approximately 7
hours including the time to return to the vehicle.
Our main goal was to locate and confirm breeding evidence of White-tailed
Ptarmigan in the area. Unfortunately we were unable to locate it. However, we
did find a group of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches. Our first indication of their
presence was an unfamiliar vocalization. We were about half way around the lake
when I heard a ‘finch like' call! I looked up and followed a bird down to where
it landed on a rock. Though the bird was backlit and about 60 feet away I did
pick out some field marks and called “Rosy-Finch!” The bird then flew off which
was frustrating but luck was on our side. We followed the bird to the edge of
some snow only to find an adult male and 2 juveniles. Within about 10 minutes we
confirmed 2 juveniles, 2 males and 1 female. They were all feeding on some small
seeds probably blown off the hills that were scattered on the snow. It was a
very exciting encounter and new North American species for me! - Rich Mooney
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23 June 2008 " I would
just like to say that it is a great privilege to be involved in such a
fantastic project and that I am really enjoying the challenge and it has
given me some real focus to my birding." - Rich Mooney
In June,
Atlas Coordinator Rob Butler and our Atlas partner, the Pacific WildLife
Foundation spent about 10 days visiting some remote squares in the Great
Bear Rainforest onboard the sailboat Ark Angel. Two guests joined Rob,
skipper Rod MacVicar, cook and educator Ruth Foster, and photographer
Tom Middleton. Some of the coastal forests away from estuaries and
openings had very low numbers of songbirds in stark contrast to the
abundance seen along rivers. The difference might partly reflect
nutrients in the forest. A recent paper in the journal Auk showed that
songbird numbers were greater along salmon-bearing streams than streams
lacking salmon. Evidence is mounting that salmon carcasses discarded
largely by bears along streams enriched insect and bird abundance. Many
black and grizzly bears were seen at river mouths during the expedition.
The sailing voyage also pin-pointed the locations of nesting seabirds
and provided first records of Eurasian Collared Doves and Purple Martins
at Port McNeill. The trip stopped in at Sointula to meet with RC
Annemarie Koch and her birding team for a discussion about the atlas
project. A small team of keen birders there are documenting nest sites
of Great Blue Herons, seabirds and songbirds. Bob Scirba showed photos
of Eurasian Collared Doves at Glendale Cove many kilometers up Knight
Inlet. Atlassing requires visits to some remote lands in the province
and the Ark Angel proved a good base from which to work. We plan to make
more visits next year.
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| 12 April 2008 The sunny morning was one of those days that is hard to beat.
The sky was clear and the birds were migrating. Ducks were
displaying in ponds and hawks were perched soaking up the early sun's warmth. Christopher Di Corrado and
Rob Butler met with Regional Coordinators Candis Eikerman, Gary Davidson and Allan Burger to search for
Long-billed Curlews prior to an atlas workshop in Vernon. Our search along L & A Crossroad was heralded by
a displaying curlew far off to the north. Gary quickly located two adults on the distant field and Candis
spotted two displaying adults in the air. It was starting out to be affine day. We then travelled to O'Keefe pond
and Otter Lake to see migratory waterfowl, lingering Rough-legged Hawks, and a resident Bald Eagle. Reluctantly we
ended the birding trip to return to the workshop but not before a quick stop at a heron colony located in Vernon.
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